I wonder if we spend more on trying to stop drugs than the value of the drugs that are smuggled. It would be interesting to know. It seems pointless to spend so much money on such an effort in futility.

Estimates are that the sale of drugs in the U.S. generates roughly 65 billion dollars a year. We don't spend nearly that much on enforcement (the yearly budget for the DEA is only around 2.5 billion dollars and a portion of that comes from money and assets seized from drug traffickers)

The whole thing only works because of the large percentage of our population willing to ingest mind altering drugs into their bodies, no matter what the costs, no matter what the risks, and no matter what the consequences. That's powerful stuff and hard to overcome.

Estimates are that the sale of drugs in the U.S. generates roughly 65 billion dollars a year. We don't spend nearly that much on enforcement (the yearly budget for the DEA is only around 2.5 billion dollars and a portion of that comes from money and assets seized from drug traffickers)

DEA is only one Agency, am pretty sure there are other ones in the US who spend time (and money) on drug enforcement. But I think the numbers really start to stack up when you factor in the cost from processing folks through the criminal justice system (especially those who get recycled over decades) and then add on the cost of incarceration. Of course lots of those costs are jobs........

The irony is that the illegal drugs trade only generates that sort of figure because it is illegal. Sold legally would be a fraction of the money in the business, certainly not enough to keep the average crime lord in the manner to which he has become accustomed. Of course I am not suggesting legalising all drugs, at least not to the point of retail!

But I would certainly legally Cannabis / Marijuana so that it becomes as much of a gateway drug to Heroin etc as M&M's are (by simply being sold by different people). Party drugs?, I would make certain "legal highs" legal and over the counter - would cut the mass market away from the other stuff which will always be available (whatever "it" is someone somewhere will take it for fun )....

...the big one is Heroin! - accept no substitutes!, IMO it is the "cure" for most drug addictions (including crack). Not available retail, but medicalised - i.e. on prescription and cheap to free (In most places not exactly expensive or hard to get as it is - but most people don't use it, that won't change)......The "cure" is simply that quality control will mean less harm to users and cheap / free means less harm to society - just because someone is a Heroin Addict does not mean they can't actually hold down a regular job (even if not as an Air Traffic Controller ), it just usually means that currently they can't afford to.

Obviously the puritanical moral "outrage" will have to be put aside - but once folks start counting the cash in own pockets / seeing similar policies works elsewhere change IMO will come...........and then perhaps we will have a war on obesity - folks willingly ingesting health altering substances into their bodes- no matter what the costs, no matter what the risks, and no matter what the consequences.

I cannot speak to the accuracy of the source, it is a web site, that shows all manner of prices world wide for drugs, arms and other illicit goods. It also lists the USD value of what is exchanged every year. I am not at my home computer or I could give you the name. It also says you can buy an AK 47 in Niger for $20.00 USD. The number that stuck in my head was 256 billion on arms trafficking and 20 billion on illegal drugs. Which I find interesting that the US govt. is up in arms about a 20 billion dollar problem, and nary a peep about the 256 billion dollar elephant in the room. Nick Cage made a very good, very sad movie about the arms dealing, "Lord of War.".

I cannot speak to the accuracy of the source, it is a web site, that shows all manner of prices world wide for drugs, arms and other illicit goods. It also lists the USD value of what is exchanged every year. I am not at my home computer or I could give you the name. It also says you can buy an AK 47 in Niger for $20.00 USD. The number that stuck in my head was 256 billion on arms trafficking and 20 billion on illegal drugs. Which I find interesting that the US govt. is up in arms about a 20 billion dollar problem, and nary a peep about the 256 billion dollar elephant in the room. Nick Cage made a very good, very sad movie about the arms dealing, "Lord of War.".

And, you remember who arrested the Lord of War in real life? It was the DEA. There is not much crime that drug trafficking is not tied into, one way or the other.

I cannot speak to the accuracy of the source, it is a web site, that shows all manner of prices world wide for drugs, arms and other illicit goods. It also lists the USD value of what is exchanged every year. I am not at my home computer or I could give you the name. It also says you can buy an AK 47 in Niger for $20.00 USD. The number that stuck in my head was 256 billion on arms trafficking and 20 billion on illegal drugs. Which I find interesting that the US govt. is up in arms about a 20 billion dollar problem, and nary a peep about the 256 billion dollar elephant in the room. Nick Cage made a very good, very sad movie about the arms dealing, "Lord of War.".

From Wikipedia:

The total value of the global arms market is estimated around $60 billion a year, with around $8 billion attributed to pistols, rifles, machine guns, and bullets.[3] The total illegal arms trade is harder to estimate, but the illicit small arms market has been estimated at 10-20% of the total global arms trade.[4]

Obviously the puritanical moral "outrage" will have to be put aside - but once folks start counting the cash in own pockets / seeing similar policies works elsewhere change IMO will come...........

I was in Amsterdam a couple of years ago, where they had legalised some drugs that are illegal in Australia. I was somewhat surprised and disappointed to find that the residents I spoke to felt the experiment was not working and that the laws would most likely be reversed. I was disappointed as I thought the legalisation would minimise the problem. Having lost someone close to me to illegal drugs I am very interested in finding a solution before my son is old enough to be exposed to the social pressures and associated risks, I see so much of it day to day here.